• If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership  The benefits pay for the membership many times over.

Army

Boghog1 said:
shut your mouth, do what your told.
Click to expand...

Y
Exactly. Run every other day until you leave and do lots of pushups and sit ups. Seriously do not go there in bad shape. The best thing you can do to make it easy on you is to be somewhat in shape when you get there. Aside from that just don't give up.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2
 
Work out daily (jog, situps, pushups) until you leave. Once there, keep your mouth shut, do not draw attention to yourself. Do everything that you are told to do, no matter how stupid it might appear to be. The purpose of basic training is to break all of your bad habits (if you have any), bring you all down to a basic level, then build you up together as a "team" of young recruits that can follow orders and are ready to serve their country. Good luck, I'm sure you will do fine. And Thank You for volunteering to serve this great country! [grin]
 
"Yep" to each piece of advice already posted here... EXERCISE! Make sure that you can run 2 miles in less than 15 minutes, and do at least 40 - 50 pushups and situps at a time.

Also, wean yourself away from your electronics... cell, online, etc. You won't have them during basic training.

If you smoke, either cut WAY back or quit before you go. Your opportunities to "light 'em up" will be few and far between. BTW, don't EVER ask the drill sergeant for a "Smoke Break"... he'll smoke you real good!

ETA: I saw the post above about teamwork... that's a very important concept in the service... you'll never succeed as a loner... develop your team, whatever team you're on; work with your buddy; and don't blame anyone else for your mistakes.

Good luck. Congratulations and thank you.
 
Last edited:
at night when you have personal time dont go directly to your rack an start writing letters, square your uniform away, square your locker away, pack your ruck for the next days training event, get your personal hygiene done then sit down an write your letters. Dont be suprised if friends dont respond all that much, people have a way of forgetting and not understanding where you are and why you are doing it. never doubt why you joined, why you volunteered, and why your going through so much shit there in the moment.

Do whats right even when everyones back is turned, keep your head down an your mouth shut an youll do fine.
 
To echo what others have said: keep your mouth shut and do what they tell you. Everyone in your platoon will at some time or another fall under the scrutiny and ire of a drill sergeant, so keep a low profile and don't draw attention to yourself in a negative way. If you don't understand something, don't be afraid to ask to have it repeated, they might yell at you for asking, but actually prefer to explain again rather than have you screw up.

The other thing: work on upper body and cardiovascular fitness NOW. Be in very good physical condition when you get there. If you smoke, quit now because there is a no tobacco ban in basic. Get plenty of rest and sleep now, because you will be in a stressful environment. Get with a vet or a current service member and learn how to make a bed before you go (hospital corners). Mastering a few things like this now will save you time when you get there because you will be ahead of the learning curve. Learn the rank insignia now, and who to salute and who not to salute, it wouldn't hurt if you learned some of the facing movements: about face, right face, left face, parade rest and attention. The more you learn now, the less you have to learn in basic training.

Learn to work together and put aside any personal predjudices. The squad you are assigned to will have to work as a team.
 
As all others stated, do what your told and keep your mouth shut. don’t worry about making friends and being a part of a "klick", do what you need to do and be at the right place, right time and right uniform and you will be fine. Good luck to you!
 
Don't listen to these people who say keep your mouth shut. Those drill sergeants are just misunderstood and would love to have an in depth discussion with you any time you don't feel like participating in a particular event. [rofl]


Seriously, just relax and accept that basic training isn't going to be fun - it's not supposed to be. But it's only 2 months long and when you are finished you will experience a sense of pride and accomplishment a lot of people will never have. Good luck and thanks for serving.
 
You are in for a great experience! As others have said, exercize, exercize, exercize. Keep your mouth shut no matter how stupid some people sound or act. Get a hair cut! Not a wiffle, just short and clean, non-discript if you will.See if you can learn ranks before you get there, private pfc, specialist, etc. Address everyone with a big ole round rimmed hat as drill sargeant. Most importnantly, stay safe, enjoy your time in, it's a life changing experience. Thank you for what you are about to commit yourself to.
-Brian
 
Last edited:
It you do it right your drill will barely remember your name at the end of basic. Do what you're told and fly under the radar. I drive down to Fort Sill in three weeks to pick my son up from Basic and AIT. It's a great and a crappy experience.
 
When I went through basic I thought it was really easy physically. I went into it in shape, so the physical portion was never an issue.

The hardest part of basic, or the most annoying part really, is dealing with the other new recruits. You will see people from all walks of life. Crazy people, people who steal, people who are constantly starting fights, racist white people, racist black people and then more normal people. After week one or two you'll see people start to get really annoyed with each other.

The training is fun and interesting, you'll look back at it for the rest of your life. do the best, enjoy it as much as you can and when it gets hard just think that you'll look back at that moment for the rest of your life and have a good laugh about it.

I thought basic was really fun. If i didn't have my gf back home cheating on me it would of been even more enjoyable. [rofl]
 
Make sure your hair is cut and you are clean shaven before you show up.
Never look a DI in the eyes.
When asked a question, sound off like you gotta big pair of balls!
Wear simple clothing that shows you care about your appearance.
Do everything you can to stay under the radar.
Find someone to show you how to Stand at Attention before you leave. (PM me and I will teach you.)

And thanks for stepping up to the plate......old farts like me really do appreciate it![smile]
 
I don't know what Army basic is like exactly, but when i went through boot, it was a huge advantage that I showed up in shape.

The best piece of advice I got before leaving for the Island was to not get emotional about what the DI's do or say. Everything they do is designed to see how you respond to a situation under stress. It is their job to push you to do more. If you can do 100 push ups they want to make you do 1 more. If you can do 25 pull ups, they want you to do 26. They teach you to never quit, and to this day, when I am beat and hurting, when i just don't think I can keep going, I hear this voice in my head that says "Move! move ! move!" Get Up!. That voice is Senior Drill Instructor Staff Sgt. Clenney, and he was the baddest SOB on the planet. We all thought we were tough, but none of us could keep up or shoot like Clenney.

Also, although I am not a very religious man, I never missed services on Sunday. I don't think I have attended 14 services in a row since, but they sure were a nice break from training.

Try not to let home be a distraction. The world will go on while you are away. I saw so many guys go out of their minds because of a girl back home. I broke up with mine months before I left and didn't write her a single letter while on the Island. I was so surprised when she showed up for graduation with my Mom.

Good luck and pay attention! With your MOS it is very likely that you will spend time in some unfriendly places and you may learn some things in Basic that will matter
 
i just finshed up oust not to long ago then airborne school no bull no go there thinkin you the biggest and badest mother ****er around people to hate that guy and its not to much never volunteer for anything just know when then detail they are going to put you on is less shity then the one you are on at the time dont take everything the drill sgts say to heart they are there to add stress to you life alot of it and they can trust me other then that dont be a shit bag i dont know and im not saying i do but i know a few people who i went to basic with and they never did anything and no one liked them at all and by the end of the whole thing the drill sgts told them that "your going to get someone killed becouse your such a lazy POS" just do your job and dont **** off. O and pt before you get there just like everyone else is saying trust me. any other questions PM me.
 
Pro tip:

If you are going to Benning, every Sunday attend the pentacostal serive. They import girls from off base and its nice to smell a female at least once a week. You also walk past the Sand Hill PX where you can jump a cab down to the Bruger King and put some calories in your stomach before the service. Although I advise against it, you can also run into the shopette by the BK and buy a roll or two of Skoal to bring back with you. Back in 98' they were selling for $20 a can to your platoon, $40 to others.

Just don't get caught.
 

Similar threads

Army uniform for the army navy game. Go Army....beat Navy.
2
Replies
40
Views
2K
garandman
garandman
Army Aviators told that they owe another three years??
2 3
Replies
74
Views
2K
tuna
tuna
Nazi to Green Beret - The Soldier Who Somehow Joined Both the German and US Army
Replies
12
Views
569
Picton
Picton
Army advice on Resiliency
Replies
3
Views
410
cams
cams
Army Medal Identification
Replies
24
Views
934
Crash9D23
C
Back
Top Bottom